Process of making glass in a shaft furnace



,Jly 1o, 1923.

PRocE'ss 0F' lnx-Ip@ Guss In A SHAFT Funmq Filed March. 18, 3.927

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lill/[111111111111111] Patented July 10, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE.

KURT KNZEL, or UnsMANNsDoRF, GERMANY.

PROCESS F MAKING GLASS IN A SHAFT FURNACE.

' Application mea Maren 18,1927, serial No.

sition air and fuel are introduced under pressure into the charge of a container at the bottom of the latter, whereby said container operates in a manner similar to a Bessemer converter.

These propositions, however, have not gained any practical importance, because on the one hand the glass which isproduced will be colored to such an extent, that it cannot be used for practical purposes. This coloring is due to the carbon in connection with the sulphur, the manganese and other elements contained in the fuel. 0n the other hand, a device of the kind of the Bessemer converter could not be used for melting glass because if air and gas are separately led into the liquid glass, the temperature of the latter will be decreased at the points of the entrance of the air and the gas, so that the opening serving for the entrance of the,A air and the gas will soon be clogged up and prevent any air and gas from passing throu h the same.

the molten mass ofthe converter and produce at this place a cold flame which does not serve any practical purpose.

The above considerations have led to this invention, which consists essentially in carrying out the process in such a manner, that the mixtureor charge, which serves for the generation of the glass, is solely filled into the shaftv of the furnace, and that the flame serving for melting the material is introduced into the furnace from below. More particularly, said flame is introduced iirst into a space, which is not filled with the charge, and thereupon through'the shaft of the furnace. In this space, which is preferably positioned at the under part of the furnace, the fuel will burn together with the air and generate a Haine of White incandescence and of the proper qualities which are required for melting glass. The

A development of heat,. there ore,l cannot take. place in this case. In f the most favorable case' the gas and the airjy will come into contact with each other above 176,398, and in Germany February 10, 1925. Y

fuel maybe used in solid, liquid or gaseous form and the furnace accordingly may 4be heated by combustion of dust of fuel, oil or gas. The flame is furthermore caused to operate under a proper pressure in order to overcome the resistance which is oHered by the charge contained in the shaft of the furnace. It is, however, also possible, to arrange the furnace in such a manner, that the furnace gases, which are discharged at the upper part of the shaft, will be subjected to the'action of a proper draft.

In the accompanying drawings there are shown two vexamples of a furnacev serving for the process according tothis invention.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, Figs. l and 3 4are each a longitudinal section and Figs. 2 and* 4 transverse sections along the lines I-tl and II-II of Fig. 1 and Fig. 3 respectively. Fig. 5 shows a lengthwise section through a glass smelting furnace with suction draw.

.i The shaft of the furnace is designated by the letter a, the fore-space Vb being rectangularly connected with said shaft. A burner d .is provided in the front wall of said forespace d. The fore-space d is equipped at its bottom wlth a collecting groove e as shown 1n Flgs. 1 and 2, so that the gass which comes from the charge f will collect in said groove e, from which it will be carried off by means of a syphon g and continuously Yconveyed into another furnace or the like ,Serving for the further treatment of the glass. y

8 and 4 show a form of furnace according to this invention, which is espelcially suited for being heated by .fuel in ydust form. 'In this case the syphon, which serves for carrying the molten glass out of the furnace, 1s preferably provided at `the sole of the shaft a', for instance at the point 72. Upon the surface of the sole of`l the.

shaft a there is further provided an elevated part or ascent z' which is of semi-circular conformation and equipped with means for cooling the same by water.

The ashes of the carbon dust will thus be molten and caught on the inclined surface j of the charge. The molten dark-colored glass which is produced at this place may be let offat g, while the glass-material proper which is obtained by the smelting process from the charge f may be discharged at the point lin such a manner that it will in no way be affected by the ashes.

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1U Z is drawn right through the rllhis latter glass-material is of somewhat,

which is especially provided for this"pur"` pose in front of the working furnace. In Fig. 5 a glass smelting furnace is represented which has attached a suction blast by means of which the flame'produced by the burner charge f.

I claim: p

1. A process of making glass:l in a shaft furnace, which consists inmaintaining a charge of crude glass material insa-id furnace and carrying a flame upwardly through said lshaft and the charge therein.

2. A process lof making glass in a shaft furnace, as specified by claim 1, wherein a' draft is applied to the flame for the purpose ofcarrying the same through the charge in the furnace.

n testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature. u

KURT KUN ZEL. 

